Saturday Olympic ratings strong; NBC sorry for Japan remark

New York (AP/UNB) – Highlights from media coverage of the Pyeongchang Olympics: RATINGS: An estimated 21.4 million viewers watched NBC’s prime-time coverage on Saturday night, with the number increasing to 24.2 million when consumption on the digital live stream and NBCSN cable network are added. Both figures are down from the 25.1 million who watched the corresponding Saturday in Sochi four years ago. But it was a better showing than the first Saturday night from the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro two years ago. NBC’s dominance of the TV landscape was thorough: ABC, CBS and Fox had a combined 6.1 million viewers for their prime-time fare.SORRY: NBC apologized to South Korea for a remark by analyst Joshua Cooper Ramo on Friday’s coverage of the opening ceremony. Ramo credited Japan as an influence for South Korea’s resurgence over the past three decades. That angered many South Koreans with memories of Japan as an occupying force from 1910 to 1945.LONG SKI: NBC’s team of Al Trautwig and Chad Salmela did well setting the stage and conveying the drama when Norwegian Simen Hegstad Krueger came back to win the 30-kilometer cross-country skiathlon after falling on the first lap. They had a little more trouble as amateur psychologists. Salmela noted at one point that Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo looked like he was struggling physically, “but I think he’s faking it” to deke opponents. Apparently not, since Klaebo finished way out of the running.UNB news agency